Though it was recorded live at New York's jazz emporium,
Iridium
, Detroit born saxophonist
Kenny Garrett
makes a return home of sorts with
Sketches of MD
, his debut on the Motor City's own
Mack Avenue Records
. His quartet here, with bassist
Nat Reeves
, pianist/organist
Benito Gonzalez
, and drummer
Jamire Williams
, may not possess the star power of some of his studio albums, but this band is more than up for the gig. In addition, saxophonist
Pharoah Sanders
reprises his role from
Beyond the Wall
from 2006 as
Garrett
's foil, creating sparks aplenty.
's been a lot of places since he left Detroit: he was a member of one of
Miles Davis
' later electric groups, and in his own generous collection of albums his explorations have run the gamut, from hard-driving post-bop explorations in
African Exchange Student
to the post-
Coltrane
modalism and Eastern overtones on
to the varied jazz-funk workout on
Happy People
. Here,
offers a sincere crowd-pleasing set of his own tunes that covers all of these terrains. All five of these pieces are long. The set commences with
"The Ring,"
an extended, hypnotic modal workout with
Gonzalez
playing his best
McCoy Tyner
, and
's alto and
Sanders
' tenor beautifully articulated. On
"Intro to Africa,"
Gene Ammons
' soul meets
Duke Ellington
's blues in a sultry mix of honking and blowing. The vamp is repetitive as in a repeated coda, but serves to build the tune up into something both folksy and profound -- especially as
and
begin to chant along with the piano. The title track begins as a skeletal sketch played out in rhythmic quotes from
Reeves
and in breaks by
Williams
;
's and
' exchanges are minimal, ratcheting up the tension in the groove where the pulse feels more pronounced as
colors in the frame with painterly synth washes. This is among the most beautiful and quietly rousing things here. There is an excellent version of
's now trademark
"Wayne's Thang"
with grooved-out funk led initially by a bass drum and a hi-hat vamp by
's Rhodes.
's alto comes strutting in the door with a spare but killer strut in call and response with
until the keyboardist begins to solo and
enters. The set closes with
"Happy People,"
where
' kit shuffles and shifts from tom-toms and cymbal bells to hi-hat and snares as
dig into everything from tough and contemporary jazz to R&B to quoting
Weather Report
and the electric groove of mid-'70s
Herbie Hancock
.
is a big player here, not so much as a soloist -- though he is that -- but more the cornerstone of the evolving sounds and textures this group is putting forth. What is most pleasing about
is that
is as concerned with offering his audience a solid and utterly engaging show as he is with having himself thought of as a banner-carrying sophisticated jazzman. And that's where he stands above so many of his contemporaries:
finds beauty and worth in a rainbow of jazz's expressions in the 21st century. This set is an excellent debut showcase for
on
Mack Avenue
. ~ Thom Jurek